


It Was Never The Countryside

by longlivejohnlock (Sherlockxxxx)



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Spaleb, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7495443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlockxxxx/pseuds/longlivejohnlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spencer gets a week off from her studies and decides to go on a brief trip to London with her best friend Caleb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. trains, playlists, and yahtzee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BoobsRadley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoobsRadley/gifts).



> Hi! Follow me on tumblr or talk to me or whatever. :P  
>  **[@prettylittleliarsxxxx](http://prettylittleliarsxxxx.tumblr.com)**
> 
> I'm gifting this to Jordan **[(@theredvelvetheart)](http://theredvelvetheart.tumblr.com)** because. Spaleb. :3

The train ride was excruciatingly long. It clocked in at nearly twenty-four hours from start to finish, with several connections to make. But the company was good and truthfully, Spencer didn’t mind trains. They always reminded her of old black and white movies. It felt… glamorous, even though it most certainly was not.   
  
Caleb always let her have the window seat. He knew how much she loved watching the world zoom blurrily by. Sometimes she’d catch him watching her look out the window.  
  
“It’s so beautiful,” she’d say.  
  
“Yeah,” he’d murmur back.  
  
But it was never the countryside he was looking at.  
  
Sighing blissfully, content with life at this moment in time, she rolled her head on the back of the seat to look at Caleb, who had quickly become her favourite travel companion. And her best friend. She was met with a smile, and she grinned back.  
  
The sun was just starting to rise and neither of them had slept, not even for a minute. Spencer was notorious for not being able to sleep on trains (or buses, boats, or planes), and Caleb was more than happy to sacrifice a little bit of shut-eye if it meant keeping Spencer company. There wasn’t a better way that he could think of to spend his time.  
  
If they were lucky enough to get wifi on the train, they’d play Hearthstone for hours, sometimes switching to Yahtzee for something a little less strategic. All the while, they’d listen to playlists depending on their moods, the time of day, or where they were traveling to. The current playlist, carefully crafted by Spencer, was a fairly comprehensive list of the most iconic punk songs. They were going to London, the epicentre of where the punk rock scene originated. It was mandatory to listen to The Clash, Sex Pistols, and The Smiths.  
  
It was perfect.  
  
It had been a long time since Spencer had felt _this_ content. This at peace with life and existing. She even felt free for the first time in years. She wasn’t sure she had ever been this free. Before Alison, before Mona, before Charlotte, before Archer, she was still trying to be perfect -- she would reach perfection even if it killed her. Now it didn’t seem so important. She would rather be happy.  
  
Yawning, she rested her head on Caleb’s shoulder.  
  
This was common practice on train rides now, and neither of them questioned it.  
  
Caleb shifted down in his seat a little bit to make his shoulder more comfortable for Spencer and she nuzzled her head against him.  
  
She was _exhausted_ and just wanted to sleep. But they had about another two hours until they finally reached St. Pancras, and the chances of her falling asleep were slim to none.  
  
But she closed her eyes anyways, a small smile on her face.  
  
Miraculously, Spencer fell asleep, albeit restlessly -- she was fairly sure she accidentally kicked the seat in front of her several times. It wasn’t the good kind of sleep where you wake up feeling refreshed, ready to take on the world. It was the kind of nap that somehow made you feel even more tired. But it at least helped to pass the time, because by the time she opened her eyes, they were just a few minutes out from their final destination. She hoped it was enough to get her through most of the day. She didn’t want to waste a moment sleeping if she didn’t have to. London was one of her favourite cities in the world, and this time she would get to explore it with her best friend.  
  
There was nothing that could make her happier. 


	2. scarves and harry potter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Caleb arrive in London. Before setting off into the city, they stop to embrace their inner Potterheads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr if you don't already! [**@prettylittleliarsxxxx**](http://prettylittleliarsxxx.tumblr.com)

It was nearing ten in the morning and their train was slowing down to a stop at the world famous St. Pancras station in central London -- the railway station where Harry, Ron, and Hermione caught the Hogwarts Express. Spencer and Caleb, however, were not wizards, and they were not going to a magical castle.  
  
That didn’t mean they wouldn’t stop at the commemorative 9 ¾ platform and take silly photos, though.  
  
The line wasn’t as long as it could have been -- thankfully -- so it only took about fifteen minutes before it was their turn. Spencer quickly grabbed the blue striped scarf while Caleb snatched up the red striped scarf. She made sure both of their scarves were perfectly wrapped around their necks, blushing when her finger-tips accidentally brushed against his jaw. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat and asked the person behind her in line to take photos with her phone.  
  
There’s an attendant who takes professional photos you can buy (and Spencer was going to definitely buy them), but she wanted copies on her phone, too. She wanted to immediately be able to upload it to Instagram.  
  
Caleb plastered himself face-first to the wall of brick beside the trolley, getting into the pose they had discussed, while Spencer stood behind him, posing as if she had just pushed him. The second pose they did had Spencer sitting on the trolley with Hedwig in her lap and Caleb posing as though he were pushing the trolley.  
  
Neither of them cared to do any individual photos.  
  
After unwrapping their scarves and handing them back to the attendant, they grabbed their backpacks and hustled off to the gift shop just around the corner.  
  
Spencer wanted _everything_ in the shop, but she resisted the urge to fill up a basket and instead waited at the cashier counter for the photos to be ready. It was a small store but she somehow lost track of Caleb in the sea of people picking up their wizarding world souvenirs.  
  
Before she could search for him, their photos were pulled up on the computer and her face broke out into a smile that was so bright, it could power a building. They turned out exactly how she thought they would.  
  
She ordered two copies of each photo.  
  
“Thanks,” Spencer said to the cashier.  
  
The cashier handed her the small bag containing their photos, a cardboard Harry Potter themed frame surrounding them, and Spencer turned to leave the store when she spotted Caleb waiting for her outside of the shop already.  
  
And he had a similar bag to Spencer’s.  
  
“Oh my God, you didn’t get your own copies, did you?” Spencer asked, confused. “I didn’t see you near the counter!”  
  
Caleb chuckled and took out what he had bought.  
  
A beautiful Ravenclaw pen with a matching journal.  
  
“I saw you eyeing it when you were waiting and I knew you wouldn’t get it for yourself.”  
  
Her eyes filled with tears, flattered by the gesture. It was something she would hold dear for years to come.  
  
Most of the time, people gave her presents that _they_ liked -- never what they thought _she_ would like. Her parents always got her the most expensive things. Things she’d probably never dare using, either because she didn’t like it, it wasn’t meant to be _used_ , or she was afraid she would ruin or break it. The only people who managed to give her gifts she liked were her friends from Rosewood -- Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Alison. But even then, it had been a long time since she had seen them. They were spread all throughout the country and all they did for each other's birthdays were cards and Skype calls.  
  
Sniffling, she threw her arms around his neck, burrowing her head into his shoulder.  
  
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I love it.”  
  
_But not as much as I love you,_ she thought. 


End file.
